3/11/15

Inflate A Balloon Experiment {as seen on Jacksonville Moms Blog}

Recently I wrote a post for the Jacksonville Moms Blog highlighting some of my favorite science experiments for big kids. These were all done for the Mad Science Party we threw for Cole's 8th birthday. Here are the details for the Inflate A Balloon Experiment.

Directions: Use the funnel to fill your balloon with
2-3 tablespoons of baking soda. Fill your small water bottle about ½
full with vinegar. Carefully put the top of your balloon over the mouth
of the water bottle. Don’t dump the baking soda in until it is secure.
Hold your balloon upright and gently shake it so that all the baking
soda falls down into the vinegar.

Why it works: The baking soda and the vinegar create
an ACID-BASE reaction and the two chemicals work together to create a
gas (carbon dioxide). Gasses need a lot of room to spread out and the
carbon dioxide starts to fill the bottle, and then moves into the
balloon to inflate it.